Well.
Not to go into too fine a detail, but this event summed up all that is wrong with standard. My deck turned out to be pathetically inadequate against every deck I faced because nearly everyone was playing THE SAME THING. Japanese players tediously netdeck and pimp them out with foils because they have money to burn.
Every deck featured:
Green
White or Black or Red as the support colour(s)
Gideon, Ally of Zendikar - the new Elspeth. Looking forward to its rotation.
Chandra (whatever the hell the new one is called)
Worldbreaker - 4 ofs. Total board wrecker.
Reflector Mage - people splashed for this. I saw no one even attempting blue in the lower ranks.
Tireless Tracker - tireSOME tracker, more like.
I saw ONE white weenie deck piloted by an American. He was crushed in R9. Jace (Origins) was strangely missing, where at Hareruya he is conspicuously included in every deck which makes playing against him tedious.
Underperforming Cards:
Flaying Tendrils - hit absolutely nothing. Only ruined my side, so I never cast it. Maindecked for tokens and white weenie, and all it would have done was wreck my own side. Always ended up being sided out.
Always Watching - garbage in this deck. Even if my guys have vigilance, most of the time you're getting your cards bounced or being hit by 5/7s. A 2/2 or 2/3 on your side does nothing against Worldbreaker. Again, I always sided this out for Stasis Snare which I then never drew.
Drana, Liberator of Malikir - never stayed on the board long enough to do anything. Her 2/3 stats make her an easy target. She went off once and got me a win. Nicely costed but ineffective in this meta.
Eerie Interlude - total crap. Sat in my hand most of the time and while it saved me in one or two games chump blocking with my guys, I was dead the next turn after drawing something like a land.
Overperforming Cards:
Infinite Obliteration - superb, wish I'd gone for 4 instead of 2. Took care of Tiresome Tracker, Worldbreaker, etc. in a creature-heavy environment.
Ruinous Path - always sided in 3, always drew 1, always casted it. Even managed to Awaken and get some 4 hits in. On reflection, my sideboard wasn't as effective as it should have been and I should have gone for some Ultimate Price and not bothered with Ob Nixilis.
The experience was disheartening and ultimately, boring. I know think I'm giving Standard a rest and will instead look to my collection to get some enjoyment without needing to keep up with the Joneses (or Watanabes): EDH, homebrew Modern decks, and pauper cubes of KTK and BFZ. SOI as a set brought some powerful cards into the game but as a set has really failed to impress me (and many others) and unless it's sealed/draft I won't be bothering with the new sets from now on.
